Russia grounds eight planes after deadly crash

Moscow, Sep 10 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Flights of eight planes have been suspended after a deadly air crash virtually wiped out one of Russia’s most successful hockey teams, the Russian transport watchdog said.

A Yak-42 plane crashed shortly after take-off from an airport near Yaroslavl, some 250 km from Moscow, killing 43 people, most of them players and coaches of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team. Two survivors remain in critical condition.

Yak Service, the owner of the crashed plane, has a fleet of 10 aircraft and five of them were grounded after the inspection.

The company was instructed “to carry out a set of measures to decrease safety risks in Yak-42 operations”, Rostransnadzor said in a statement.